Democrat Ed FitzGerald's chances of unseating Republican Gov. John Kasich have dwindled to next to nothing, analysts and political scientists say.

FitzGerald is reeling from two consecutive weeks of news of his missteps. He lags in the polls and lacks campaign cash to make up for the headwinds he faces.

Now, top staffers are leaving the campaign, leaving FitzGerald and top Democrats to strategize about whether to use some of his limited campaign cash to help others in the party.

"Unless something happens in the Kasich campaign, some kind of scandal or problem, it's going to be very hard for FitzGerald to beat him in November," said Paul Beck, an Ohio State University political scientist. "It would have been hard anyway."

That reality has hit state Democrats. The FitzGerald campaign is expected to trim staffers and salary and prepare to devote cash to efforts that will help other Democratic candidates in an attempt to stave off a Republican sweep Nov. 4.

"We needed to reorganize in order to maximize our resources and ensure victory not only for Ed and Sharen (Neuhardt, his running mate), but also the entire statewide ticket," spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said Tuesday.

Staffers leave

FitzGerald's campaign manager and communications director have already left the campaign, Hitt confirmed, with other departures expected this week.

The campaign's political director has stepped in to manage the campaign.

Hitt declined to give more details on the reorganization or plans for FitzGerald's campaign money. On Friday, the campaign will release a final update on staff and strategy changes, she said.

In recent weeks, instead of ramping up for the post-Labor Day period, FitzGerald's campaign has continued to fizzle.

That further endangers statewide Democratic candidates who have been running more competitive races against Republican incumbents — most notably, Connie Pillich, who is challenging Treasurer Josh Mandel, and John Patrick Carney, who is challenging Auditor Dave Yost.

"What FitzGerald needed was his campaign to be able to compete money-wise and not make any mistakes," said longtime Ohio political consultant Jerry Austin, among the half-dozen political scientists and analysts interviewed by The Cincinnati Enquirer. "It would be better if the Ohio Democratic Party starts focusing on the down-ballot races."

Without a strong gubernatorial candidate, "it's every man or woman for himself" in down-ballot races, said Austin, who worked for FitzGerald's Republican opponent when he ran for Cuyahoga County executive in 2010.

Still, such upsets have happened — most recently when now-Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor defeated Barbara Sykes in the state auditor's race in 2006, when Democrats swept the other statewide offices.

Bad news

FitzGerald's troubles began to intensify July 30, when Republican Gov. John Kasich posted his second consecutive double-digit lead over FitzGerald in the independent Quinnipiac University poll.

FitzGerald's spokeswoman maintains the governorship is still within his reach.

"While Ed FitzGerald has undoubtedly made some mistakes in his personal life, some of the greatest leaders of our country and in the state had some deep, personal flaws. They still made a very profound impact on the lives of working people," Hitt said.

"If the greatest mistake Ed FitzGerald made is that he had an expired driver's license, (people will say:) 'That matters a lot less to me than the fact that Gov. Kasich has consistently favored the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of Ohio's middle class.' "

Influencing others

Still, FitzGerald's missteps have virtually eliminated the chances any outside Democratic groups will want to invest in his race.

That could be good news for other Democratic statewide candidates. Even as FitzGerald's campaign is calculating how to allocate its campaign cash, Democratic leaders and donors are considering whether to invest in those lower-profile races or in across-the-board efforts to turn out Democratic voters, instead of giving the money to FitzGerald.

The cash infusions could help stem the negative effects of FitzGerald's campaign woes and minimize the blow to the party's stature.

"This is as strong a ticket as I've seen the Democrats put up in a long time, and given that, it seems particularly problematic that (FitzGerald's problems) may spill over into the other campaigns," said Jane Anderson, a University of Cincinnati political scientist.

Still, if Democrats focus on other races, Republicans are likely to react similarly. And the GOP holds a sizable fundraising lead across the state.

The lack of competition in the governor's race also provides opportunities for outside GOP groups to focus on other states. Still, the Republican Governors Association so far continues to invest in Kasich's re-election bid, releasing another negative campaign ad against FitzGerald on Tuesday.

Kasich himself gave little indication Tuesday of how his team will respond to FitzGerald's campaign moves.

"I pay no attention to the other side," the governor said at a campaign event at a Cincinnati restaurant.